Broken
by CrystalizedFairy
Summary: Roe's life sucks. Her mom ignores her, her brother is the perfect child, and her stepfather beats for hours on end. She expects the worst of everything. Her arrival at Hogwarts changes her view on life as she comes to control her magic.


_Hey everyone. This is the second fanfic I have written for Harry Potter. Hope you like it. I apologize if I get age differences wrong. It's been a while since I read the series. _

**Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

_**Rochelle POV**_

If love is a language, then I'm a Hungarian Horntail dragon. If love is an emotion, then I'll burst into flames. Love's never been shown to me, so I don't know the meaning. No descriptions could ever tell me what love was. So I, Rochelle Elizabeth Murray, will remain a loveless girl for all eternity.

Don't believe me? Are you the youngest child, the one that looks like the father she never knew? Are you the toy used to relieve anger? Have you received countless beatings just for existing? No? Well, I have. And it's not fun, either.

Mum never liked me. With my dark brown hair, slim figure, and eyes the color of forest moss, I was the spitting image of my father. Or so my brother Toby told me. He was the favorite, with messy blond hair, deep blue eyes, and a lanky frame. He was my only friend.

And he was real.

Mum loved him even more when our Hogwarts letters arrived. Being a witch, she drilled into my head, was the highest honor God could have given her. Toby was the perfect example to her story. Though we're twins and only five minutes apart, Mum loved him best. It showed when she flat out ignored me as I showed her my letter.

We live in the muggle part of London, which is how she met my father. Or, shall I say, _ran_ into him. He took her virtue in an alley on her way home from work. Just some random stranger she never met. Just another face in the crowd. Maybe if he was drunk it would have seemed more ordinary. People just don't go around shagging people they don't know.

"Roe," my mother would say to me, "when you go out into the world, be sure to watch your back. You never know when something bad is going to happen."

That was one of the nicer moments we shared in our relationship.

The day mother took Toby and I to Diagon Alley, it was raining. So we had to rush about and try and get everything done in a few hours. My stepfather Marc, the person responsible for my pointless beatings, was a Muggle and therefore decided to stay at home.

Our last stop was to Ollivander's Wand Shop. It was a dark and dusty shop with little space to move about and even less air to breath. My mother, claiming she left her purse at our last stop, left us at the doorstep to the small building. Toby held the door for me and we went in.

I don't see how Toby and I are related. I'm the quiet one, and he's always in motion. It was while he was examining that a man appeared from nowhere.

"I was wondering when I would see you two in my shop," he said. I stood up.

"I take it you are Mr. Ollivander?" I asked him.

"You assumed correctly, my dear. You look so much like your grandmother. If only she were here to witness this important moment in your life," he said. I tensed at the mention of my grandmother. The woman hated me with a passion. The feeling was mutual, of course.

"Gran died a year ago, much to no one's sorrow," I replied. He smirked.

"It's true. Allegra was never an easy person to get along with, but never mind her. On to your new wands."

He placed two boxes in front of us and said to give them a wave. The windows shattered and he took our wands away. Toby had a connection to the next wand Mr. Ollivander let him try out. I set the papers on his desk on fire.

"This is very tricky business, children. Don't be sure that the next wand you get will be the right one. The wand chooses the wizard after all. Now let's see . . . Nope, too strong . . . Not enough grip . . . Ah, here we go." He set a dusty box on the counter in front of me. With one flick of my wrist, the light in the store magnified.

"Perfect! Dragon heartstring, phoenix feathers, a few Veela hairs, made of rosewood. You'll do great things with this wand. Just be careful of how you use it. No telling what kind of trouble you can cause," he teased, a small grin on his wizened face. I grinned back and paid for the wand.

Mum was waiting outside and she wasn't alone. In one hand, she held a pure white Snowy Owl, quietly perched in its cage. In the other, a small beige crate was doing little to contain its charge.

"Happy early birthday, dearies! I regret to say I won't be around to give you your presents, so here you are. Toby, you get the owl and Roe gets the cat," she said. I was puzzled, by both her words and her actions. Toby was too excited to notice.

"Thanks mum," Toby said. I opened the crate and peered into the green eyes of a small black cat. She was pressed up against the bat of her crate so it took some coaxing to get her out.

"Mum, she's adorable," I said. She looked pleased. And a little sad. Weird sight.

The day came for me to go to Hogwarts. I was too excited to sleep the night before and was therefore tired. Marc had to hit me several times to stay awake. Mum was too busy to notice and I don't think anyone else saw.

I gave mum a hug and boarded the train without so much as a glance at Marc. I gave my bags to someone and walked down the corridor, seeking an empty compartment. Toby was no doubt trying to follow me and probably failing at it too.

Coming to the end of the train, I found an empty compartment with the words MARUADERS ONLY on the frame of the door. I slid inside and sat down, opening my bag to find a book to read. My cat, whom I had named Mara, onto my lap, was making it hard for me to focus on my book.

Being a solitary person by nature, I was a bit annoyed to find a redheaded boy come into my compartment. He nodded at me, then took a seat by the window. The silence that followed was uncomfortable so I made an attempt to be friendly.

"Hi. My name's Rochelle Murray, but you can call me Roe," I said, holding my hand out to the boy. He shook it.

"I'm Charlie Weasley. Is this your first year, too?" he asked. I nodded.

"Good. That means I won't be the only one late to class." I laughed, something I rarely do.

"Well then, Charlie. Do you have any siblings on this train?" I asked him.

"Bill is a fourth year, Percy is four years old, and I'll have a little sister by January," he replied. "And you?"

"My twin brother Toby is somewhere on this train, but other than that, no. It's funny, because you're the first kid I've had contact with in months," I said with a straight face.

"That can't possibly be true. I'm sure you have lots of friends."

"By friends I assume you mean people who care about my well-being? Then no, I do not have friends. The kids in our neighborhood always like Toby more than they liked me. It's hard not to," I replied, looking out the window. The English countryside was a blur at the speed the train was going. Charlie was silent for a while.

"Do you deliberately try to space yourself from other kids?" I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. If I had tried to be their friends, it wouldn't have ended well anyway," I said.

"Why not?" I didn't answer him. The awkward silence came back, but no one tried to break it.

Eventually, a prefect came to warn us that we would be arriving at Hogwarts soon. Charlie let me change in the compartment while he went to the bathroom. I was excited, but also sad. Excited that I was almost at Hogwarts, and sad because my mum would miss my birthday. She may not have had good parenting skills, but she was still my mum.

Getting off the train, Charlie and I followed the other first years to the lake where an enormous man stood with a lantern. He seemed deep in conversation with another redhead.

"Heya, Charlie. I was just talking to your brother here and somehow your name popped up. And who might this little lady be?" he asked, his eyes focused on me.

"Hagrid, this is my friend Roe Murray," Charlie answered. Hagrid looked surprised, but tried to cover it.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Now, you lot get in the boats while we wait for the others to join us," he said, waving us to the shoreline. Bill went off with his friends to the woods where I could see the faint outline of a carriage waiting for them.

If you've never been to Hogwarts before, then you're missing out. Lights shone all around the castle, making it glow in the night sky. The tops of the towers were partially hidden in the clouds, with their other halves covered in torches of bright orange light. The sight took my breath away and I could hear the other first years gasp behind me.

A stern-looking lady led us into the castle and left us outside the Great Hall to wait to be sorted. After she left, everyone started talking at once. Charlie and I just leaned against the wall and waited for the lady to come back. When she did, I waited for everyone else to go in first.

The Great Hall was even more amazing than the castle at night. Hundreds of candles were alight and suspended in mid-air while the ceiling was the exact picture of a stormy night. I heard one girl say that the ceiling was enchanted to look like that. Must have taken some serious magic to pull off that.

"Listen, please. When I call your name, you are to come up to the front. You will sit on the stool, I will place the sorting hat on your head, and it will determine what house you will be put in," the lady explained. I zoned off while she called off the names. It wasn't long until my name was called.

"Rochelle Murray." Everyone's eyes were on me as I sat on the stool. Then the weirdest thing happened.

_Murray, huh? Didn't know your mother took your father's name. Maria's been telling some lies, I can see._

_Get out of my head. There are some things you don't need to see._

_Like your daily beatings? Oh yes, such pain, and such a thirst for revenge._

_Can we get this over with? Please?_

_That temper could get in the way, though. Better be . . ._

"GRYFFINDOR!" I smiled with relief and ran to the table at the far left. Charlie and Toby joined me not too long after and we all sat next to each other. I didn't pay attention as Professor Dumbledore gave a welcome back speech. Charlie kept giving me weird looks throughout the dinner, but I didn't pay him much attention.

When dinner ended, we were led to the common room by the same prefect from the train. He led us all the way up the enchanted stairwells and finally brought us to Gryffindor Tower. The girls were directed to the right stairwell and the boys were directed to the left. I climbed the stairs before the other girls could and ran to my dorm.

In the room there were six four-poster beds lined in a circle around the room and a trunk in front of each bed. Mine was next to the window, thank God. One of my favorite hobbies is to read by moonlight.

"Hi. My name's Lyric McCloy," a voice said. I spun around and saw a short girl with long black hair and pale skin. She had eyes the color of the sea.

"Hello, Lyric. My name's Rochelle, but you can call me Roe," I said, sticking out my hand. She took it my hand and it a firm shake.

"Nice to meet you. You're a first year, right? Well just stick with me and you'll be fine. I can give you a tour tomorrow if you want."

"That would be great Lyric, thanks," I told her. She smiled at me, then climbed in her bed. I climbed into mine as well and thought, for once in my life, I am home.


End file.
